Hacking the Times of London

Some time ago the Times and Sunday Times of London decided to close off online access to nonpaying readers from outside the UK. It never made much sense, as the only option offered was an annual subscription at £39.99 (about $64) -- a bit much for looking up the odd article, when so much else is available online for free (or by paying as you go).

It didn't take long, however, before someone realized that the Times' barriers to foreign readers were more show than substance. This Register article explains.

For further info on proxy servers, see UK-based The Scream.

UPDATE: The Times' restrictions have been altered as of spring 2003. Registration for UK readers no longer is required -- but that means that those outside the UK must either pay the subscription fee, or use a UK-based proxy server (high anonymity) or ISP node. A list of proxy servers organized by country may be found here.

Posted by David on December 30, 2002 11:47 AM